Elemental Aftermath
by priestess.kiyoko
Summary: /Hey Frozen lovers! Let me know if this idea is worth investing in! (rating and genre may change) *updates when possible*/ After the Great Thaw, Arendelle was to return to life as it were, without the chaos of Elsa's suddenly exposed powers... But as always, the peace never lasts. After all, if Elsa was borne with powers over ice, who was to say that she was alone in this phenomeno


**A/N: Hello readers! I felt inspired to write this after watching Frozen again! This will be my first Frozen fanfiction, so please let me know what you think! Please enjoy the read!**

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"Your majesty? May I have a word?" There was a short rap on the door to her study. She scanned the last of the documents briefly before setting them on the side of the table in a neat stack. Inhaling deeply and dragging out the exhalation, she rubbed her unfocused eyes with gloved hands, suppressing a soft sigh, before rubbing at her temples.

Today's work had been interrupted by notice that she would be visited by the neighbouring city. And of course, many letters in regards to recent happenings within her kingdom. The never-ending torrent of paper was overwhelming, but ever since she becam the queen, she figured, she eventually would need to accustom herself to such bothersome tasks. They were relatively simple, but tedious, and time-consuming, eating up her day. Sometimes, she would begin work just as the sun rose, occasionally skipping meals all together. By the end of it all, the sun would already be setting in the west, casting a multitude of pastel colours across the sky. She could see it from the window of her quarters. Watching the sun set in the horizon, painting the sky an array of fiery colours always brought a smile to her face. A vague smile made its onto her face as she clasped her hands together, and called for the messenger waiting on her: "Please come in."

The oak doors swung open silently, and a young maid stood not two feet away from the now closed doors. She beckoned for the girl to close the distance, and from what she could tell, the girl was quite nervous. Her outfit was slightly mussed, no doubt from rushing here, as her cheeks were still flushed, and her hands fingered the fabric to her attire. "What is the matter?"

"Your majesty!" Her voice cracked, as the remainder of what she had to say tumbled out in a rush. "T-The Prince of the Southern Isles is already-"

But the last word, 'here,' was already drowned out by a surprised noise from the Queen. Both hands tightened, curling into fists. "Already!?" Immediately standing, her plush chair forcefully pushed back and nearly toppling over unceremoniously, the matriarch straightened, a small, tight-lipped scowl marring her face as she spoke. "I apologize for the haste, but you are dismissed. Please tell the cooks to prepare an early dinner instead."

The maid squeaked an affirmative answer before scurrying off, scrambling to relay the message, and the abrupt change of plans. The doors swung shut behind her, leaving the Queen for a moment.

What on earth could have made the Prince in such a hurry to see her? Granted, they were to meet in a week or so, but the missive he sent had been terse, every word emanating an urgent need for an audience with her, though she was still not privy to the reason, much to her displeasure. She hated making her guests wait on her. It simply wasn't courteous. And being late? Definitely a misconduct in her books. She liked for things to be properly scheduled, and worked out before hand.

The Queen flung open the study's double doors, and hurried along the carpeted floors. Luckily, her study was in the relative vicinity of the main entrance to the castle, so it was but moments after that she arrived at the grand entrance. She paused just before the doors, the guards doing a double-take at her dishevelled appearance. She always made sure she was presentable, not a strand of hair out of place. But as she was now, her auburn locks fell from their fixated position, coyly framing her flushed face. Her dress was miraculously still becoming of her lithe figure, the bodice hugging her slender frame like second skin.

Noticing the unusual, lingering stare, which was noticeably prolonged, as compared to the usual ones she received, she took the hint and brushed up, replacing her bangs, straightening out her attire and taking a deep, steadying breath before she nodded for them to open the gates, hands growing heated in the gloves.

Stepping out to the first of the gilded stone steps, she was greeted by the Prince himself, dismounting from his steed. The stallion in itself was a sight to behold. The sleek, well-groomed coat of the mare called out to her, seemingly commanding her attention. The Queen smiled softly, when the gentle beast give a small snort, head dipping as if in greeting. She mirrored the action with a slight tip of her head. How silly it would've looked had the interchange been seen.

The sun was already high in the middle of the sky, engulfing the lands in a warm, dazzling glow, embracing the earth. A gentle breeze rustled the lush grass that waltzed in the wind, twisting about. A distant bird could be heard, chirping a short tune.

Schooling her amused expression, she plastered on her patented neutral countenance. "I welcome you to Jordan, Prince Eric."

By this time, he had properly dusted himself off, sweeping a short bow. He had handed the reigns to a stable boy, who led the mild-tempered horse off to rest at the stables from the journey. "It is a pleasure to be in your kingdom as always, your majesty, but I deeply apologize for the sudden rush. I caught wind of this and took off immediately. Truth be told, my father isn't quite pleased, but it was he himself, who suggested that we speak with you... He's quite engaged at the moment."

She chuckled a little, though in actuality, but a foreboding feeling began to settle in the pit of her stomach. Waving off the formality, Eric straightened. "Marie will be fine. We're nigh on the same age..." She trailed off at the thought, and Eric knew not to press. "But shall we?" Marie gestured to the open doors. "I presume you have urgent matters to discuss?"

"Yes, please. But after you."

She gave a brusque nod and head inside, sparing a glance at the guards, that had been ogling her from behind, and scrambled to secure the doors after them. "I hope my study will be suitable for this? I haven't had the maids tidy the room up. It's been a long morning, and I have been holed up in there, since."

"Oh please," Eric grinned, hoping to maintain a friendly banter. "If anything, your rooms are always too orderly. Not a speck of dust would be out of place, if there were any to begin with."

He was rewarded with a hearty chuckle. "I suppose so. But on the other hand, I don't understand how you can find anything in yours." She threw a charming smile back at him, and caught him feigning a wounded look.

"I'm hurt, how could you utter such a thing? I know exactly where everything is." He exclaimed, causing her eye brow to hike up. He couldn't take his eyes off of... Well... Her. Even if it was only the back of her: the back of her head, the back of her dress... She was definitely a sight for sore eyes. Maybe eyes in general, would be more pertinent to her. _Or perhaps, for sore ears, in my case._ He added as a mental note. Whether she noticed it or not, she had a way of commanding attention. He knew it would be a short trek to the study, so he took the moment to drink it all in.

Wavy, molten, copper tresses, were piled up on her head, secured by an elaborate clip, decorated with gleaming white pearls, and even from the back, he could see that some of the hair had been left to frame the face. This exposed her bare neck. She had chosen not to wear any necklaces today. He decided, that she didn't need them to enhance her beauty anyways.

She had donned a long, sleeveless dress, one that hugged her figure, revealing the even, tanned skin of her shoulders and upper back, before hiding behind the cloth. The familiar clicking resounding from beneath her informed him of her choice of footwear.

All too soon, the double doors came into view, even at their leisurely walk, and with a few paces, he was let into the quiet room. As was expected, the hearth was still roaring besides the desk. The vast room was equipped with ample furniture to seat two score or more. But of course, there would probably be at most, a handful of occupants at a time on most all occasions.

Plush chairs surrounded a low table in the left-most corner of the room, close to the window, in which the earthen-coloured drapes had been drawn shut, to blot out the afternoon sun, and the potential glare. Several bookshelves lined every wall, filled from top to bottom with alphabetized books, ranging from historical documents to encyclopaedias heavy enough to break an arm, were it to fall from a story up. A thin cover of dust coated some shelves, while others were evidently read more often.

Several pictures dominated the far wall to the right. All of which were family portraits. His eyes landed on the most recent one, and immediately snapped back to attention. It wouldn't do have him caught staring at the family portrait, even if a youthful Marie was particularly enticing.

But above all, there were always candles in the castle. Many, many candles. Innumerable amounts of candles were set in the study alone, lining the desk, the shelves, windows, and anywhere else in the room where the space was provided. He always wondered why it was that she had so many candles around the entirety of the castle. He reckoned, that it would simply be bright enough for all the candles in the room to be lit, and it would be as bright as the crystal chandelier, hanging from the middle of the ceiling.

He never did work up courage to ask why it was that she need so many of them. And as far as he could tell, every single one of them had been lit before, and some more than others. Though he had not known her for very long, they had recently had more encounters, since he had become of age, and was interested in trade with Jordan.

As such, the Queen chose to sit at a smaller table off to the side with portraits. He quirked an eyebrow at this, but remained silent, sitting only when she had taken her seat first. A porcelain tea set sat on the edge of the table, and of course, it was accompanied my two candles.

"I would offer you a drink, but it-"

"It's fine, I'm not all that thirsty anyways. I brought a water flask with me for the travel." He reassured her when she insisted on having a maid bring something, but eventually quieted down, settling into the seat, her hands on her lap, with the ever-present, polite smile.

He had the feeling that she was never entirely present whenever she was with him. It was not to say that she didn't care for what he had to say, but it was always as if she had something else on her mind. Perhaps it was only when she was with him. But she was always rather pensive.

"So..." Eric began, his own hands under the table, hidden from sight as he twiddled his thumbs. "We caught wind of an... Incident... Per se." This seemed to reel in the Queen's attention, as she focused on him. "It was found that one of my brothers, has done something quite... Disheartening." At this point, he already looked rather distressed.

Marie remained silent, attentively listening to what he had to say. From the brief flicker in her eyes not a moment before, he knew she was not expecting the meeting to be about his brother. Which, to be honest, was only fair. He occasionally brought up the pranks or schemes his brothers would perpetrate, but he had never really mentioned this brother in particular...

"My youngest brother, the thirteenth prince, unbeknownst to us, had fled to Arendelle."

"Arendelle...?" The name rolled off her tongue, and she furrowed her brows, having heard the name somewhere before. She racked her brains as to why she would only know of the city name half way across the continent, and yet know next to nothing to about them. Well, of course, she knew that they were a kingdom that was well off, and was known for their gold, and their fjord, which lead into the seas, making Arendelle a fisherman's favourite. Were they not one of Jordan's trading partners? Is that why she had heard of the name before? In which case, she would need to clarify their relationship in terms of trade, as she was still quite new to the workings. _I ought to look into this..._ She liked to keep herself informed of matters, and to remain aware of, at least, the basic inner workings of her nearby kingdoms.

"It was said that a terrible tragedy had ensued, and a new Queen was recently coronated, though many rumours have been spreading. Up until recently, a disastrous winter had taken a hold of the city, along with some bizarre occurrences."

Marie perked up a little. _Winter...? In the middle of the summer? How preposterous!_ Granted, they neighboured the mountains, but surely...

"The new Queen was said to be quite unapproachable, and rather, _cold_. Some referring to her as a monster of some sort, so in an absurd rush, he desired to court her, but was horribly turned down. He's been sent back, utterly terrified."

Marie's eyes widened marginally. The story seemed a bit... Off.

"Hans, though I realize that I haven't spoken of much of him, always seemed to be quite, light-hearted, and although he isn't as out-spoken as I am, and seems relatively introverted, I still care for him deeply. I am quite worried about his well-being."

_Hans..._ Actually, Marie had heard of the name before... But at the moment, the reason as to why escaped her. Perhaps she had met him before? When she was younger, she had attended many a ball, and the Southern Isles had always sent some combination of the brothers, seeming as they were so close to Jordan. They were all rarely all present at he same time, but they would come. A fuzzy mental image of a young boy with cropped brown hair formulated, but almost instantly dissolved into the abyss of her memory. Certainly, he wasn't impressionable enough, if he did not have a lasting image in her mind with her keen memory. It would seem she needed to do quite a bit of research tonight.

"Apparently, it was said that she mistreated him, threatening to hurt him and even endangered him. She was said to have nearly killed him."

This time, Marie evidently had shock overtake her features, and he internally tamped down on the bubbling emotions that threatened to overwhelm his features, his external expression still one of anguish.

"You jest..."

"I kid you not. It is what my father has told me." He reaffirmed the thought.

"Attempted murder?"

"I suppose that's what you would call it..."

The two sat in silence as they stared across the table at each other, and Marie eventually lowered her gaze, mulling over the thought, tendrils of information worming their way into her mind again.

Arendelle was a pure blooded kingdom. One that solely sired pure blooded royals, and never amalgamated with any one who was not directly born from the royal family, to ensure that there would be no disputes as to who had claim to the throne. Blood lines were extremely important after all. In comparison, the Southern Isles was a relatively new, and developing bloodline. Thus, Eric had so many brothers. Jordan on the other hand, although more similar to Arendelle than the Southern Isles, was not quite as strict as Arendelle's previous generations had been.

"So I suppose here is the question..."

"You wish for me to investigate the matter?"

"Well, in a sense..." Eric continued. "My father has instructed me to tell you that Arendelle is an important trading partner for us." And after a short pause, he amended the statement. "'Was,' anyways. But as the continent's most amicable kingdom, we hoped you would be willing to help us assuage, or perhaps amend the ties that have been severed. We depend on Arendelle largely for their export..."

Marie's eyebrows hiked up again. "To improve relations? Have I become an ambassador now?"

"Oh, no, no! Nothing of the sort!" Eric quickly back-tracked. "Jordan is an important trading partner of ours too, but don't you think the situation strange? Perhaps they are hiding something from us... If for one would love to find out-"

_Aren't we all hiding something from each other...?_ She mentally rolled her eyes at the foolishness of Eric, still remaining wary. But as usual, she still smiled tactfully. "Well I suppose it isn't too much trouble." She mused, her hands sweating in her gloves, a rising heat from her chest warning her to shorten the meeting. He was trying to goad her... "I can see why it can be of a concern for you, to have your dear brother mistreated in such a disgraceful manner. And seeming as my predecessors have maintained a benign relationship with nearly every other kingdom, I suppose it would be justified for us to... Look into the matter.

Truth be told, I'm quite interested to find out what it is that is so intriguing about Arendelle. If I can be of service to the Southern Isles, than it would be my pleasure to do so. I believe we must re-negotiate Jordan's trading contracts with Arendelle as well, and seeming as the influx of communication between us are all but dead, I suppose I must personally attend to the matter, also."

Eric seemed to relax into the chair infinitesimally. "Thank you! You have my absolute thanks! As does the whole of the Southern Isles!" Well he at least seemed quite enthusiastic about it.

Marie nodded slowly, and the two fell into idle chit chat, asking of how the weather had been, and as per usual, Jordan was comparatively warmer than the surrounding kingdoms...

"I really should take my leave now. As usual, it was pleasant talking to you." The prince extended his hand across the table, and gave her gloved hand a firm shake.

That was another thing that made him wonder. Why did she always wear gloves on her hands? Even in the sweltering heat, she would never be found without her cardinal-coloured gloves. It was as if her hands were sacred. He turned the thought over, mulling over the idea, as they bid their farewells.

Eric was escorted back to the stables by the Queen, no less, and as he thanked her one last time, he sped along the familiar roads once again, heading due south with a broad grin on his face, the wind whipping at this clothes, and drawing his hair back from his face. _I must hurry home, and divulge of this wonderful happening..._

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**A/N: And that's the first chapter! Thank you very much for reading, and please leave a review!**


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